It’s the first time he’s made a public comment on the situation, although he appears to have commented on the situation in the past on an as-yet unverified Twitter account.

“The current GN'R tour has been a great success for the guys,” Stradlin told the Wall Street Journal. “My nonparticipation was simply not being able to reach a happy middle ground through the negotiation process. That's life. Sometimes things don't work out."

Asked about the absence, frontman Rose said in 2016: “I don't really know what to say about Izzy. It's like you could have a conversation and think it's one way, and the next day it's another way. And I'm not trying to take any shots at Izzy. It's just his thing is kind of his thing, whatever that is." In an apparent response, Stradlin tweeted: “Bullshit. They didn't want to split the loot equally. Simple as that. Moving right along.." He deleted the message later.

Former band manager Alan Niven said earlier this year that the reunion had actually come very close to taking place, to the point that Stradlin had flown to a stadium show in the Midwest and completed a soundcheck – but that he “didn’t want to have anything to do with” it after that point. “Obviously, had it gone well and everybody had been happy, and there had been a little bit of brotherhood — I’m sure he would have stayed with it,” Niven commented. “But something must have really upset him, because he left after the soundcheck, and never turned up for another one or an appearance. I would think right now, he's probably a little pissed off."

The Not in This LIfetime tour continues in Europe on June 3, with dates confirmed across the world until November 25.